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JavaScript•JavaScript Foundations

JavaScript Arrow Functions

Arrow Functions allow a shorter syntax for function expressions. You can skip the function keyword, the return keyword, and the curly brackets

const multiply = (a, b) => a * b;

Arrow Functions were introduced in

ES6 and are commonly used in modern JavaScript.

Arrow Function Syntax

An arrow function uses the

=>

symbol. An arrow function is always written as a function expression.

Example

const add = (a, b) => {
return a + b;
};

This arrow function does the same thing as a regular function expression.

Shorter Syntax

If the function body contains only one statement:

You can remove the word function, the curly brackets and the return keyword.

Before Arrow

Function to compute the product of a and b:

const multiply = function(a, b) {return a * b}
With Arrow const multiply = (a, b) => a * b;
With Arrow const hello = () => "Hello World!";
Before Arrow const hello = function() {return "Hello World!";}

Arrow Functions with One Parameter

If a function has only one parameter, you can omit the parentheses:

With Paranthesis const square = (x) => x * x;
Without Paranthesis const square = x => x * x;
With Paranthesis const hello = (val) => "Hello " + val;
Without Paranthesis const hello = val => "Hello " + val;

Arrow Functions Return Value by Default

If the function has only one statement that returns a value: You can remove the brackets and the return keyword:

Example

const hello = () => "Hello World!";

This works only if the function has only one statement.

Arrow Function Parameters

If you have parameters, you pass them inside the parentheses:

Example

const hello = (val) => "Hello " + val;

If you have only one parameter, you can skip the parentheses as well:

Example

const hello = val => "Hello " + val;

this

Arrow Functions with No Parameters

If there are no parameters, parentheses are required.

With Arrow Function:

const hello = () => "Hello World!";

You can only omit the return keyword and the curly brackets if the function is a single statement. Because of this, it might be a good habit to always keep them:

Example

// This will return undefined const myFunction = (x, y) =>  { x * y };
// This will return undefined const myFunction = (x, y) =>  return x * y;
// This will return the expected result const myFunction = (x, y) => { return x * y };

Arrow Functions Are Not Declarations

Arrow functions are always expressions and must be assigned to a variable. They cannot be used before they are defined.

Example hello(); // Error const hello = () => "Hello";

Arrow functions must be defined before they are used.

Arrow Functions and the this Keyword

Arrow functions do not have their own this value. They inherit this from the surrounding code.

Example

const person = {
name: "John", greet: function() {
return this.name;
}
};

Using an arrow function as a method often gives unexpected results.

Example

const person = {
name: "John", greet: () => {
return this.name;
}
};

In this case, this does not refer to the person object.

When to Use Arrow Functions

For short functions

For callbacks and array methods

When you do not need your own this

When Not to Use Arrow Functions

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JavaScript Functions Quiz